What is Kyphosis of spine, and is water really important?

Health-E-News May 2017 empowering you to optimal health

Chiropractic care helps relieve problems due to pregnancy

Many physiological and biomechanical changes occur over the course of pregnancy. Neuro-musculoskeletal symptoms may arise, such as low back pain, edema, and numbness and tingling. Many pregnant women seek out natural forms of therapy as opposed to pharmaceutical interventions to promote the wellbeing of the fetus.

A 28 year old nulliparous woman is experiencing neuro-musculoskeletal symptoms 33 weeks into gestation. She presents tingling and numbness in her right hand which is aggravated by her work as a church organist. The patient also seeks care and relief of her swollen right leg and low back pain. Her chiropractic care started off with 2 visits per week for 4 weeks. She received adjustments on her thoracic spine, as well as on her upper and lower extremities. By the fourth visit, the patient reported diminishing edema and by the ninth visit, resolution of numbness and tingling in her right hand. Her lower back pain resolved progressively over the weeks of care. A week after the ninth visit, she delivered a healthy baby boy.

Natural methods of care should be the first type of intervention considered, especially for pregnant women. The body goes through incredible changes and it is an experience like no other. Besides caring for physiological difficulties, I am fascinated by the reduction in psychological stress associated with child birth. A mother’s love for the new born child should be reflective in the type of care she seeks. Chiropractic care strengthens the body’s natural healing abilities during and post birth. It is fascinating how our bodies respond to the positive stimuli that progresses the development experienced by the mother and child. The celebration of life through birth is congruent with the goals of chiropractic care; prosperous and vitalizing.

How to Make Sure you Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated on a regular basis can be tricky to remember. You already find chances to drink water throughout the day, but are you getting enough? It’s easy to tell if you’re dehydrated based on what your body is telling you, such as headaches or lethargy. How can you stay hydrated throughout the day aside from getting a few glasses of water in? Take a look at this guide to help you make sure you’re staying hydrated.

Signs of dehydration

You may not have realized that some of the symptoms you experience on the regular are actually signs of dehydration. Since feeling tired, getting a headache, and overall dizziness or lightheadedness could be caused from anything, you may not have associated these symptoms with your lack of hydration. Look out for these signs, as well as muscle cramps, constipation, dry or sticky mouth, and even dry skin indicating that you may be moderately dehydrated.

You’ll even notice that you aren’t urinating as often when you are dehydrated. If things get too serious, you’ll notice symptoms like rapid heartbeat and breathing, a fever, unconsciousness or delirium, and low blood pressure. This will also be accompanied by extreme thirst, confusion, dry skin with no bounce after being pinched, and sunken eyes.

How you can start hydrating yourself better

You’ve heard that you should drink eight glasses of water per day. It’s smart to take your current body weight and divide the number in half, using that as a guide of how many ounces of water you actually need in a day. If you can’t get all of that in your water intake, you can find other ways to secretly hydrate your body. Doing this through water-rich foods and other beverages is a great way to add some variety to your hydration needs for the day.

A great place to start is to incorporate water-rich foods into your daily diet. Start adding things like strawberries or watermelon to your breakfast and celery or cucumbers to your salad at lunch. These are great sources of hydration and since your body wants 20% of your daily water intake to be done through food, you’ll be covering your bases while enjoying other health benefits from these foods.

Your morning coffee is actually a wonderful source of water too. While it’s not as straightforward as a glass of water, about eight ounces of coffee will equal about four ounces of water. Then, be sure to choose a vegetable juice with breakfast since this tends to be a great alternative to water. You’ll find it to be a high quality beverage option for replenishing your cells, hydrating, and offering you important nutrients.

In addition to regular water, add in some coconut water into your day. It’s a great way to stay hydrated without overloading you on carbs. It offers a high level of potassium too, making your bodily fluids easier to regulate.

Now that you know the signs of dehydration and ways to stay hydrated, remember to make sure you are remaining hydrated throughout the day and the week. You’ll struggle with physical activity, pregnancy, and overall wellness if you are dehydrated. Before your next chiropractic adjustment, be sure to keep hydrated in order to see the best results from your treatment.

What is Kyphosis?

Do you know anyone who currently has kyphosis?

Kyphosis is a forward rounding of the back. Some rounding is normal, but the term “kyphosis” usually refers to an exaggerated rounding of the back (i.e. hunchback). While kyphosis can occur at any age, it’s most common in older women, due to things such as osteoporosis. In addition to an abnormally curved spine, kyphosis can also cause back pain and stiffness in some people. Mild cases of kyphosis may produce no noticeable signs or symptoms.

Age-related kyphosis often occurs after osteoporosis weakens spinal bones to the point that they crack and compress. Osteoporosis lowers the density of the bones in the spine and it allows for easy bending and compression. Other types of kyphosis are seen in infants or teens due to malformation of the spine or wedging of the spinal bones over time. Mild kyphosis causes few problems, but severe cases can cause pain and be disfiguring. Treatment for kyphosis depends on your age, the cause of the curvature and its effects. The powers of chiropractic can allow those who have kyphosis to heal their body.

This study looked at fifty-one subjects, 30 women and 21 men. Inclusion was based solely upon the patient presenting with a cervical kyphosis. All were patients in a private clinic where only the protocol of the Pierce Results system was followed in the evaluation and analysis of each patient. Curve measurements were performed using the Acu-Arc curve ruler. All 51 patients underwent chiropractic care in the office with follow up cervical x-rays at different intervals based upon clinical presentation.

Results of the study: The study involved 51 cases, 30 female and 21 male with an average age of 45. One hundred percent had some degree of positive change towards lordosis or a decrease in kyphosis. The average change in cervical kyphosis towards an established normal lordosis was a 56% correction. The average period of re-evaluation of lordosis was 12 weeks after onset of care consisting of 10 office visits. Results were statistically significant.

In conclusion, this analysis revealed changes in the structure of all 51 of the presenting cases. There are some variables in the time between the initial x-ray evaluation and the follow up x-ray where post measurements were taken. The time span ranged from 1 day to 35 weeks. This analysis demonstrated that consistent and efficient structural changes can be achieved in the cervical spine as a result of specific subluxation correction using the Pierce Results System™ of adjustment and analysis. The published literature has shown that rehab exercises and traction are required to achieve regular structural change, but the results of this study were attained without any use of traction, exercises, therapy, or rehab. In fact, 4 of the corrections were achieved with significant correction after one subluxation specific adjustment.

Top 3 Tips for Improving Posture

Are you ready to improve your posture? Now is the time to learn how to do it once and for all. You shouldn’t have to harm your spine on a daily basis due to poor posture you didn’t even realize you had. It’s a huge source of your neck and back pain, as well as your overall wellness issues.

Stop slouching at work and start sitting up straight in order to start correcting your neck and back pain once and for all. Take a look at these top three tips that you’ll need to improve your posture going forward.

Strengthen your core

One of the biggest reasons you struggle with neck and back pain is because your core is not strong enough to support it. This is the largest muscle group in your whole body and it needs to be strong to support the rest of your body. It’s responsible for much of your body’s movements. It’s important that you keep it strong through exercise and always working to improve your posture. Join a yoga class to start improving your core strength, as well as your core’s flexibility and range of motion. Having this core strength through exercise will help your abdominal muscles which will in turn help to give you better posture. For some, good posture happens through tensing the glutes, which is the incorrect way to do it. Make sure you are focusing your posture efforts from your core that is built in strength through exercises like yoga.

Visit your Chiropractor

Next, make sure you are getting regular adjustments with your chiropractor. This will help you with body wellness as a whole. Adjustments help to make sure everything is aligned well so that your good posture can benefit you the best. While you are with your chiropractor, ask about good posture and the recommendations for achieving it best.

Your chiropractor will show you how to achieve good posture in your back by keeping it as straight and tall as you can. With the work put in to achieving good posture and regular adjustments, your neck and back pain will have no reason to return.

Set up a system to remind yourself

Just like drinking 8 glasses of water each day and flossing every morning, it can be challenging to remember good habits. Take the time to remind yourself to practice good posture, just like you have to learn good habits of drinking water and dental care. Find a reminder system that works for you, such as a note on your desk or a smart phone app that send reminders about your new habits. Good posture is not only about physically doing the work, but also mentally remembering to prioritize it.

Your neck and back pain from poor posture can be resolved by practicing good posture on a daily basis. Your chiropractor can help you with good tips on doing it properly, as well as regular adjustments to make sure your body is in tip top shape, and then you just need a good reminder system and some regular core exercise within your weekly routine. Common neck and back pain can be corrected from caring for your neck and back’s health on a daily basis, improving your quality of life.